Friday, November 30, 2012

Now, the equally moronic empty-suited, anti-American racist bigot in the White House is playing games.

Well, that's fine. Make the cuts.

Folks, at SOME point, we ARE going to have to cut.... and I mean everywhere. I, for example, really don't expect to get social security... and I expect that I'll never retire.

But at some point, we have to address the reality confronting us: out of control spending must end.

I say let it start now.

The options presented to us ALL suck to varying degrees.

We can continue to hurtle down the sewer to becoming an even larger version of Greece, AKA "The Obama Plan."

We can slow down the pace and become something somewhat more akin to, say, France; a somewhat more Republican plan where THOSE morons want to wreck the plane, just at a slower speed and a somewhat shallower angle.

Or we can turn away from the travesty and end all the politics of it while causing EVERYONE to sacrifice.

On one hand, the scum running the democrats want to jack up taxes on everything except the so-called middle class. That's garbage, of course: who pays the jacked up taxes of business, corporations, the wealthy?

Does anyone think that any tax jack wouldn't be passed along to the consumer, regardless of category they may occupy?

Increasing taxes on the rich would solve absolutely nothing. Much like many psychopaths can become serial killers, the communists running the show have become serial indebters and serial spenders.

And now, they want to get rid of the fiscal ceiling. (Which, come to think of it, our own waste of skin voted for increasing repeatedly)

During the I-695 campaign here many years back, John Carlson of KVI fame said of then Governor Gary Locke: "He can land the plane with the wheels up... or fly it directly into the ground."

Like Locke, Obama is choosing to fly the plane directly into the ground, with the throttles slammed directly into the firewall.

Call their bluff. Implement the cuts. Do it now. Then we'll see what happens.

Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) made an interesting attempt to free himself from the anti-taxation bonds of Grover Norquist's pledge this week, announcing that his recent reelection to a redistricted swath of Hudson Valley effectively cleared the slate.

Gibson had signed the "no new taxes" pledge coordinated by Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform group when he was elected to represent New York’s 20th Congressional District in 2010. But following a U.S. Census-mandated redrawing of district boundaries, he won reelection in November in the 19th District. In a statement, Gibson argued that his new borders allowed him to reconsider the conditions of the pledge.

To my dismay, Jaime Herrera continues to ignore the constituents of Clark County by doing nothing to stop the CRC scam.

She is well aware of the rip off aspect: face to face discussions with her district director indicate he is highly knowledgeable about the scam... so it's likely Herrera knows about it as well.

The question is: why hasn't she DONE anything about it?

Her ignorance is legendary: when she was parachuted back here for her worthless tenure to run for congress, her most used phrase in front of the already-decided commissioners (thanks to Marc Boldt) was "I would pretend to presume to know."

So now, not having done a damned thing in the 2 years she wasted on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where she easily could have killed the federal funding for the CRC, she now gets to expand her worthless incompetence on Appropriations.

She will be the only House member from Washington state to serve on the Appropriations CommitteeBy Stevie Mathieu Columbian staff writer

Friday, November 30, 2012

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, was picked by House Republicans to served on the coveted Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal discretionary spending, according to a news release.

She will be one of two members of Congress from Washington to serve on an appropriations committee. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs its transportation subcommittee.

"I'll work to make sure that important Southwest Washington priorities are adequately funded," Herrera Beutler said in the release. "From this committee, I can make sure federal agencies are being accountable to citizens, to help curb excess and job-harming federal regulations, and ensure we're spending at a responsible level that allows our economy to recover."

According to House rules, lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee can't serve on any other committees, Herrera Beutler's spokesman, Casey Bowman, said Friday. Herrera Beutler will give up her seats on the Small Business Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"The change in committees will not reduce (Herrera Beutler's) ability to work on transportation or small business issues, since the Appropriations Committee determines the annual spending levels for the agencies under the jurisdictions of the Transportation and Small Business Committees," according to the news release.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

For whatever the reason, the worst Secretary of State we've ever known in Washington decided he had to take a victory lap around the state before he slinked off into well-earned obscurity.

Sam Reed has been a disaster.

I came to know Sam Reed while I was working for the state GOP. He constantly whined when the GOP refused to pay off his $10,000 or so campaign debt from the 2000 election, because, apparently, even as a newly elected statewide official he lacked the ability to raise that paltry amount himself.

That's when I also came to know, in the most up close and personal way, that political parties were only a label, and in many instances such as Reed's were used only in the guise of opportunism, since "personal responsibility" and other GOP concepts such as vote security and felon responsibility seemed to be concepts beyond Reed's grasp.

In a dull-normal tenure where Reed SHOULD have been acting on behalf of the voters of this state, we were, instead, cursed with a man who's primary concern was based on reducing his work load.

Reed has neither advocated nor implemented any programs designed to ferret out the illegal alien vote; in fact, as a strong advocate of motor voter, where this state, for unfathomable reasons, remains only one of two in the entire country to provide illegal aliens with driver's licenses, Reed has taken no action to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

When one applied for the license they're looking for, of course not requiring proof of citizenship to drive, one also doesn't provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, either, diluting perhaps our most precious right by allowing any one of these people committing multiple crimes (Being here illegally and falsely swearing to be a citizen) to vote. Not requiring this common-sense qualification reduces the work load of the Secretary of State's office, because there is, then, no requirement to attack this kind of fraud.

Reed appeared to be helpless to deal with the felon voting issue, but appearances are deceiving. Publicly, his staff even lied about the timing of Reed's efforts to get out from under the felon voting issue, as that post explains. Except for sending convicted felons illegal voter registration forms, Reed has never done anything to enforce the restrictions against felons voting without first completing their sentences... "completing their sentences" including the vital aspect of paying their court-ordered restitution, an act that few felons bother with.

Now, voter registration forms are part of felon out-processing, and voting has been completely taken off the table as an additional lever to get these criminals to pay the victim(s) for their criminal acts.

And who benefited from that? Democrats, who've been after the felon vote for years, and Sam Reed, who subsequently had his own work load reduced, because he could stop making excuses for failing to do his job and work to write software that would screen out felons.

He did nothing about the felon vote because he never WANTED to do anything about it.

And finally, his moronic desire to jump off the cliff with Oregon and require all votes to be in by COB election day, instead of the much fairer system that has been in use in this state for decades... the system that allows votes POSTMARKED by COB election day to be counted... as they should be.

Democrats want that because typically, late-breaking votes usually trend right... as illustrated by Tom Mielke's come-from-behind victory over Pam Brokaw in the Clark County Commissioner race in 2008, where 4000 late-breaking votes came in for Tom.

Under Reed's "work avoidance" plan, Mielke would have lost, because many of those votes would not have been counted. And naturally, the rag would have supported that.

Clark County is moving toward a ban on collective medical marijuana gardens.

Commissioners Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke both instructed county staff at a Wednesday morning workshop meeting to begin work on a policy that would prohibit the gardens as an acceptable land use in the county. Commissioner Steve Stuart was absent from the meeting.

The gardens allow medical marijuana growers to establish community gardens where as many as 10 patients can grow up to 45 plants. The state approved the gardens last year, but the county placed a moratorium on them until June 2013 to come up with an implementation plan.

Boldt and Mielke both said they are concerned that allowing the gardens would fly in the face of federal law, which prohibits marijuana use, sale and cultivation. Commissioners also said they would prefer to wait and see how the federal government handles voter-approved Initiative 502, which will allow adults older than 21 to use recreational marijuana.

Here's the problem for the pot heads: the vote accomplished absolutely nothing. It legalized nothing. The dopers and their comments under this article are completely ignorant of the law and how it works.

We could vote to legalize this crap a DOZEN times, but under our system of law, that it's still illegal federally is the only question... not how badly these morons want to get wasted every day.

Marc and Tom did it right. And until the fed changes the law... the dopers are just gonna have to get over it... and themselves.

Charge and counter-charge. Over a million dollars vaporized as two opponents, equally motivated, hacked away at each other.

But even now, who can articulate what the plan is? What their vision might be?

Except for the combat... who can remember much of anything about this?

It was brutal. For the first time since I've known him, Don Benton was outspent by a great deal of money.

It wasn't enough as it turned out, and clearly, opportunities were missed on both sides.

Had the focus remained on issues, Benton would have won with relative ease, likely achieving Madore-like numbers, scaled down to a leg district as opposed to an entire county... 31 percent of Clark County... or around 4600 votes or so.

But the filth of the campaign forced Benton off message. Benton's message of year's-long opposition to the CRC rip off; smaller, more efficient government with lower taxes and lower pay/benefits to the PSE thugs holding us hostage? It easily would have blown Probst's record of waste, bigger government and support of the fringe-left leadership of the legislature to pieces.

And forcing your opponent off message is the key. Varying levels of success as examples abound at most every level. In the governor's race, sometimes a moron is running like RINO Rob, who sticks his nose into issues and areas that are none of his business (Can you say Boy Scouts?) and Obama's various lies about Romney and Baghdad... all of which were designed to keep the focus off the utterly miserable failure of his Administration; arguably the worst this Nation has ever seen.

Probst's biggest problem, though, was he not only kicked a dead horse, he bet on one.

The charges against Benton ran the spectrum from utterly absurd to time worn and failed. There was nothing new... there was just more of it. And there wasn't really anything new in Probst's pitch: his fundamental weakness was in spite of the nonsensical idea that he was some sort of "conservative democrat," his election helped get taxes raised in the House and would have caused them to be increased in the senate by virtue of who he would have voted for as Senate leadership.

The critical element?

Messaging.

The lesson?

The axiom that

"If the law is on your side, argue the law. If the facts are on your side, argue the facts. If neither are on your side, attack the other side's lawyer."

Was at play here. And it shouldn't have been.

But if you're a loser... and that's all you've got... then what else is there?

Upon my commissioning, I was re-classed into Adjutant General due to hearing loss. I worked in special enlisted management, qualitative management, community postal operations, Force Modernization with the 11th Cav, and AG operations with the 8th Infantry.

I served with, trained and commanded both men and women. I had to deal with reduced mission capability because of women and their issues. And in the military, mission capability is SUPPOSED to be Job One.

Women have never been equal in the military. They have always had special consideration for quarters, "facilities," and a double standard in physical fitness.

Further, women have never been drafted in the history of this country, nor are they required to register for the draft as all men are upon their 18th birthday.

Oddly, to the best of my knowledge, no woman has ever sued over any of that.

The military has the right to discriminate, and they do... frequently... every day, in fact.

That is why homosexuality was illegal in the military. And that's also why if you weigh too much or too little, are too short or too tall, are missing a limb, blind, deaf, dumb, diabetic, HIV positive, too stupid, too much acne, too much of a criminal record, feet too big or any number of other reasons that disqualify one from even serving in the military at all, then you can't get in.

That's why we lose the right to free speech, free expression and the right to quit, for example.

And here's the deal: every one of those women, who have enjoyed the affirmative action of their gender by benefiting from the institutional double standard in their favor, have failed to express any concern about the discrimination that favors THEM.

They ain't suing over the roughly 20% lower PT standard. They're not suing over their advantages of non-deployability when they choose to become pregnant, a choice that screws someone else because of THEIR choice.

None of them have sued over the requirement that men and men only have to register for the draft.

No... they only want to risk lives with their lowered-standard, drama-filled presence in combat on the ground.

I, for one, don't give a rat's ass that they have a death wish. Frankly, a bullet don't give a damn about "female problems." Neither does shrapnel.

The problem is, that much like the deaths and blood yet to be spilled because of the idiocy of getting rid of DADT, giving people assignments only because of their plumbing will also lead to unnecessary deaths and injury and wounds.

I really don't give a damn about those women delusional enough to believe they can successfully operate in the ground combat environment.

MY concern is for those around them who will also suffer because of this PC bullshit.

It's bad enough to be led by the clueless morons currently calling the shots.

But add women who are assigned ONLY because they have boobs and a vagina?

The Oregon Supreme Court has succeeded in doing what scores of public meetings, thousands of pages of reports, and endless public relations spin could not: Give us the original rationale behind the proposed $3.5 billion Columbia River Crossing.
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The answer, according to the court: The massive Interstate 5 bridge and freeway project is a “political necessity” to persuade Clark County residents to accept something they previously didn’t want—a MAX light-rail line from Portland to Vancouver. (To read the Feb. 16, 2012 Oregon Supreme Court decision regarding the Columbia River Crossing Project, click here(PDF, 18 pages))
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Project opponents filed a legal challenge to the way Metro, the regional planning agency, granted sweeping land-use approval to the project. The Oregon Supreme Court sided mostly with Metro.
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But Chief Justice Paul De Muniz, writing for the majority, highlighted an inconvenient set of facts for CRC backers.

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He wrote in the Feb. 16 opinion that most of the project—namely the 10-lane freeway bridge and new interchanges—was put forward to get Clark County to agree to the light-rail line.

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De Muniz cited statements that Metro made in the land-use process and Metro’s lawyer repeated before his court.

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“It was politically impossible for the light rail project to proceed without also building new interstate bridges across the Columbia River,” De Muniz wrote.

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“Or as Metro later summarized it: ‘There is no light rail without the freeway bridge[s] being replaced.’”

.Backers have cited traffic and safety issues as the top reasons to build the CRC. But the court ruling means those and other justifications were created after officials decided to give a sop to Clark County, now worth $2.5 billion.

There was never any question that replacing an already paid for, perfectly serviceable bridge was driven by anything EXCEPT light rail to the downtown, Vancouver, area; the Oregon Supreme Court now says as much.

From the excerpt above, this paragraph comes into play:

He wrote in the Feb. 16 opinion that most of the project—namely the 10-lane freeway bridge and new interchanges—was put forward to get Clark County to agree to the light-rail line.

As the liars supporting this scam, in particular, the local rag of a cancer on our community and Leave-it have been looking us in the collective eye and lying about this project, namely, that the commissioners and even the Vancouver city council can't do anything to stop this project... why is it that Clark County HAD TO AGREE TO THE PROJECT?

And if it had to AGREE with the project... how come, suddenly, magically, it can no longer DISagree with the project?

When the observation is made that this rape is inevitable, I've got to wonder: What if that perspective is just pro-light rail garbage?

What if the commissioners were to call the lawyers in and say, "guys, get us out of this. And if you can't, you're fired and we'll get someone in here who can."

So, now that the truth is out that this entire thing is a loot rail rip off that scum like Leave-it are forcing us all to be victims to and of, the question becomes this: why aren't we being allowed to vote on this rip off, particularly since we've voting on, and overwhelmingly rejected this same scam in the past?

Since loot rail is the driver, why not just build some sort of loot rail bridge or tunnel or something and leave the bridge alone?

The answer is simple: The ONLY way they can get this steaming pile built... the ONLY way they can screw us without a vote, is to roll it into replacing the brdige. Build it seperate FROM a bridge replacement and a vote would be required.

Cool, eh?

The entire fulcrum of this project then, is the carrot attached to the end of the loot rail stick.

TriMet is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt... to the tune of around $1.6 billion resulting from bonding, massive under utilization, massive overpaying of personnel (The average pay and benefits of a TriMet employee is in the $115,000 range) and unbelievably unfunded pension liabilities (Exceeding $900 million on their own) that will HAVE to be covered by someone, that make this scam outfit look like a train wreck, the Crime Trains notwithstanding.

Al Capone would blush.

They determined, given the idiocy and short-sighted/oft-stated desire to ignore the voters that the scum running Vancouver would ignore the people of this community and screw us to get loot rail into Clark County, via Vancouver; TriMet saw an opportunity and took it.

That's just the start, of course. In the future, billions more will be wasted on expanding the system through out Clark County.... that we cannot afford, that no one wants and which will accomplish absolutely nothing once built... except, of course, to sink us much further in debt.

But Trimet needs the money. OUR money.

Tens of millions of dollars generated by the citizens of Clark County will be used to expand facilities.... in Oregon.

Future bonding for projects in.... Oregon... can have their liabilities spread to us, here in ...Washington. So, I get why they did this, and frankly, I can't blame Trimet.

No, this is a failure on the part of local political leadership. They are in office, in part, to protect US, to look out for US; not to allow these scum to have the ability to engage in fiscal rape.

And that brings us to why we're not being allowed a vote on this... and why a separate loot rail system isn't set up so that the I-5 Bridge is left alone.

And that's where the vote comes in.

The I-5 Bridge is an interstate bridge. Under the somewhat bizarre concept that it's a part of the interstate system, we're denied a vote. Of course, as what amounts to a federal bridge, we shouldn't have to pay a dime in tolls, either, but everyone involved, from the two idiots representing us in the US Senate thru the cardboard cutout in Congress on down to Tim "The Liar" Leave-it WANTS tolls... and wants those tolls to be expensive.

The higher, in fact, the better.

Because they believe that if the tolls are high, people will actually use loot rail.

They won't, of course. And loot rail will be the same expensive economic black hole here that it's been everywhere else.

Slime like Leave-it are aware of that.... but Leave-it, who is employed by a CRC contractor, certainly doesn't care.

Because we're denied a vote on replacing the I-5 Bridge, the ONLY way to get loot rail into Vancouver is on the bridge.

ANY other effort to bring loot rail into Vancouver would NOT be considered part of the interstate system and thus, WOULD be subject to a vote... a vote where the results are obvious:

It would again, fail, miserably.

There is absolutely no reason to fail to put this entire issue up in front of ALL of the people of this county. None. And the commissioners SHOULD make this vote a priority as soon as possible.

Advisory, or no. Binding, or no. The people have the right to be heard regardless of the scam these clowns are running.

With the proof that loot rail is driving this $10 billion rip off, everyone in elective office around here should demand a halt to this theft. Those who don't? Well, the question isn't IF they're bought... it's more a question of how much they cost individually.

David Madore won the other commissioner race, but still came in third in
votes received with 84,244. Madore was first in campaign spending with
$294,126.39 spent, costing $3.49 per vote.

Probst, his lies, the democrat's lies and the rag's cover-ups on the quarter-million dollar scam notwithstanding, he directly spent at least $306,000 and was the recipient of $340,000 in PAC support... $646,000 for 27,456 votes...

Or roughly $23.59. Per vote.

Given Probst's stealth liberalism and his support of a leadership bent on jacking our taxes and fees so they can pay off their buddies, his apparent loss is a good thing.

Benton ran an expensive campaign as well, to be sure. But Probst's apparent loss shows this as, perhaps, the most expensive exercise in futility since the colossal waste of $150 million on the bogus CRC planning.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Followers/readers of my meager effort here know of the complete disdain I have for the woman we're saddled with in Congress.

Jaime Herrera parachuted back into Clark County after an 11 year absence of college, multiple internships, and a stint as a low-level staffer working in Cathy McMorris's office as a gofer. Because of a deal worked out between McMorris and soon-to-be former Commissioner Marc Boldt and a couple of his democrat commissioner buddies in Cowlitz County (One of whom was unceremoniously tossed out of office ala Boldt and who was subsequently hired by Boldt as an $80K a year analyst here in Clark County) this cardboard cutout of a congresswoman, who never had a private sector job and who had never even owned a home, was given the appointment as my state representative over two other far more qualified, educated and experienced people; people who even knew the issues confronting us, unlike that simple idiot.

Her interview by the commissioners was a pack of lies... not that it mattered, since the fix was on from the beginning, and the process corrupted by my brother-in-law who was doing McMorris's bidding, empty-suited lack of quality notwithstanding.

In a tenure of lies in everything from her self-overblown job description to her lies about fundraising for Bush, to her lies about missing hundreds of votes to her idiocy of dumping us during session to attend a DC fundraiser to one of her biggest whoppers:

"Every step I have taken since high school
has been preparing me for this," she said at Thursday's hearing, her voice
cracking slightly. "There is not a job in the world I would rather
have."

There is absolutely nothing to show for Herrera's time in elective office.

Lying is her strong suit. Her obvious lack of imagination is only exceeded by her cowardice... because clearly, their WAS a "job in the world she would rather have," since she was sent here precisely and exactly to do what she ultimately wound up doing:

Running for Congress.

But this part of the article, published in the democratian on November 30th, 2007 with the false headline that a "young conservative" was appointed to the vacant seat (18th District seat filled by young conservative" since she's no more "conservative" than she is a "he.") sets it up best:

Several times during Thursday's interview, Herrera confessed
ignorance of various issues, saying for example that she hadn't known that
Cowlitz County is not subject to the state's Growth Management Act.

Ignorance and Herrera go hand and hand with her cowardice. And all of this begs the issue: how did this lightweight with no history, no accomplishment, no private sector experience of any kind get the appointment over two people exactly opposite?

Problem number one: She has accomplished absolutely nothing in either the state House or in Congress.

Problem number two: She's a liar on the CRC.

With problem number one, all one has to do is review her abysmal tenure.

She's never come out in opposition to, for example, the CRC rip off.

She's voted to raise the debt ceiling and will do it again.

She voted FOR automatic cuts to the military.

Problem number two: she wants the sheeple of Clark County to believe she's looking out for them and is actually opposed to this massive CRC rip off when, in fact, she's in favor of the entire project.

That's right: like her hero Marc Boldt, who she bitch-slapped the entire Clark County GOP with by endorsing him for re-election, Herrera is for the whole meal deal. She even touches on the garbage in her carefully orchestrated response to what appears to be questions submitted in writting... answered by her keepers and her staff:

A recent editorial in The Oregonian criticized your stance against light rail on the Columbia River Crossing. The editorial says redesigning the bridge replacement project would delay job growth in this region. Care to respond?

The CRC project has not stopped, but it's stuck in the mud, and there are two reasons. The first reason has to do with the fact that right now the bridge is too low, and as it stands, it can't get permitted by the Coast Guard or the Army Corps.

The second issue is that the voters in Clark County just said that they don't like the transit portion of the CRC enough to pay for it. (If the project's environmental impact statement has to be reopened to address the bridge height, then) it seems like a good opportunity to also say, well, let's take into account what the Clark County citizens want. Now's the time to make the CRC into something that meets our needs.

I'm in pushing for a transit option that people here want, and they've said it's not light rail. I think we can have a bridge, and we can get federal money for transit, and federal money for highways. But you know what? People are going to have to change their mind a little bit on what they thought they were going to get. And who knows, I might have to push a little harder.

There's nothing here about a county wide vote to approve any part of this project. There's nothing here about the obvious extrapolation that the people around here don't want another bridge. There's nothing there about a line in the sand over tolls... moving her towards another Tim "The Liar" Leave-it moment.

In short, there's nothing... much like the empty suit herself.

In a tenure marked with cowardice and shutting herself off from her constituency and then accomplishing nothing for us except to weaken our country even further, what has this simple idiot DONE?

The short answer?

Nothing.

Unless or until she spikes the CRC, she's got a great big set of cross hairs trained on her political back. And they're attached to a 30.06 checkbook and a county commissioner-elect named David Madore; a man who will, with the same roughly relative ease he took out Herrera's hero, Marc Boldt on the same issue set, take her out as well.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Look, I get that when they hate you, they hate you, and in this instance, Madore simply cannot win.

We're in for the same tripe these scum have served up for Tom Mielke over the past four years.

Here's the problem, you see: the more successful Madore is in implementing his agenda, the more that agenda conflicts with the fringe-left view of Brancaccio... and the more they will try and beat Madore up.

If Madore cannot make any changes, they will proceed to beat him up for THAT.

So, we can expect more of their abortive, Stephanie Rice-like efforts to jam a stick through Madore's entrails.

If Madore is successful in stopping or slowing or curtailing the CRC rip off, how will the mouthpiece of the downtown mafia respond?

The lies that Brancaccio and his paper have told... over and over again... their failure to report inconvenient facts on the CRC scam (The lies behind why the "preferred alternative" of sticking this CRC crap pile in Vancouver, for example) directly conflict with "what a newspaper SHOULD do."

The newspaper should report facts. Just facts. Their opinion is utterly worthless; their slant is THEIR slant; their bias is a cancer to our community: we don't need it or want it.

The irony of a moron like Brancaccio suggesting that anyone ELSE doesn't know what a paper is for cannot be overstated.

That he seems to be incapable of seeing this smear campaign as anything BUT a smear campaign... well, that's a subject for him and his psychiatrist.

I opposed Marc Boldt's re-election, the same way I would oppose any pro-CRC democrat's re-election. Marc bailed on the GOP, bailed on us and sold out to the democrats (And where are they now? They sure seemed to abandon Marc fast enough... )

The fervent delusion the rag has that Madore will become a scummy little slimeball like Tim "The Liar" Leave-it and bail on his campaign pledges is just that: a delusion.

Madore is not Leave-it, and he's not Brancaccio... neither of whom are fit to carry his luggage.

David will be under a magnifying glass, and he will be closely watched by his supporters who elected him on the promise that he would essentially do all he could to spike this scam.

Scum like Leave-it should be afraid... very afraid. The 12 gauge checkbook is locked and loaded and aimed directly at his political career.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

We are a nation divided as opposed to a United States on this Thanksgiving Day.

The Light is flickering, but it is not yet out. It's smaller... it's dimming... it's on the wane.

My faith in my Nation is shaken as we begin our exit from world dominance of liberty and into the footnote of history to which all great Nations eventually succumb.

It's a little after 2 a.m. as I sit in my office pondering these issues yet again.

We've shown ourselves to be a nation capable of horrific, generational stupidity and political self-interest in the choice of our leaders at every level. We've shown an institutional ignorance of reality that has caused American blood to be spilled needlessly as pawns die under the guise of defending this country when those who lead it really don't give a crap about those bleeding and broken at their behest.

Corruption at all levels; obvious and reeking, runs rampant. We assign rights to those breaking our laws by their mere presence as we become increasingly overwhelmed at the cost of that presence and the cost of so many unneeded, unnecessary bribaries called "social programs" as our government is bent on the destruction of this nation... and we all return to shadows and dust.

Our economy continues on in a shambles as millions suffer from the lack of leadership, direction, vision and planning so desperately needed as we continue to trade our freedom for the dependence on "stuff" stolen from those who actually earned it; going so far, for example, as calling the requirement to be an American citizen and have photo ID "racist" if needed to exercise the right to vote.

It is impossible to be optimistic under these circumstances as those in charge from both parties sink us further and further into unrecoverable debt and bankruptcy, yoking unborn generations to the slavery of the debt assigned to them now in ways I cannot even begin to explain to my children, each now responsible for $200,000 in federal debt for things they don't even know about.

Someone, much smarter than I, once pointed out that the debt is not just the president's fault, but also that of the Congress of the United States. We have a debt. They are responsible for it, not just the president.

The end.

In reality, if Congress didn't want a debt, their wouldn't be one. And now we still have democrats running the show who want us to sprint off the fiscal cliff while the Republicans want us to hop off that same cliff at a somewhat slower, more sedate pace.

Locally; the reeking, criminal corruption of the CRC continues unabated as those who should be looking out for us (You listening, Jaime?) instead look out for the special interests who own them at our expense. Double digit unemployment in the United States runs rampant. Foreclosures continue at an astounding pace. Millions are miles under water in their homes.

And no one does a damned thing about it.

No, optimism is a rare commodity, reserved for those no longer real times when there is even a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that isn't attached to the hurtling train of our own destruction.

The pain of loss and anger at perceived betrayal runs rampant at all levels as well... even in my own extended family as my brother-in-law was destroyed at the polls and I vociferously opposed his re-election.... and then the loss of his mother...

I am blessed, however, that my friends, colleagues and clients remain steadfast in their support during these trying economic and professional times. I am blessed with a wife who really does complete me, and kids that are all anyone could reasonably even dream of in times such as these.

They sustain me. They make me whole. I am nothing without them all.

Nations come and go, but the love of family and friends echos through eternity.

And for that, I give thanks every day of my life. Even when the gray clouds loom, and the rain falls, and the leaves turn.

We are fortunate in so many ways, and I wish the same for you all on this day of celebration and somber introspection. God Bless us all.

Monday, November 19, 2012

With a primarily leftist electorate trained to hate, out-democrating the democrats isn't the way.

Busting them in the nose? Maybe. Let's look at what I believe has to be done.

In the last election, the dems ran their campaign like the democratian runs their CRC coverage: there was no lie they wouldn't tell, no exaggeration they wouldn't engage in, no twisting or other bastardization they wouldn't engage in to achieve their aim.

The GOP, on the other hand, is all about white-glove nicety. The GOP reacts with outrage to the lies, allowing the dems to control the discussion, allowing the dems to knock GOP candidates off message and allowing themselves to avoid being held accountable for their actions in office.

Does ANYONE believe for a moment that a GOP president with the horrific record of that leftist moron in the White House would be re-elected? Clearly, another Republican of some renown wasn't precisely right when he said something about fooling all the people... all the time.

Apparently, you can occasionally fool enough of them.

Locally, the Benton-Probst race comes to mind.

Probst and his guaranteed quarter of a million to run that the rag covered up for him and then ignored when it was delivered, along with his handlers, played Benton like a violin.

It looks like Don is going to win this race... but just barely. And how much of that is his fault?

Based on the horrific governance of democrats over the duration of their tenure, this race shouldn't even have been close.

I advised Don from the beginning not to go toe to toe with this clown. On personalities, he would lose. The rag's portrayal of Probst vs. Benton would practically guarantee a loss.

My strategy was to educate the public on what Probst's election would mean: educate the public to the reality that Tim Probst was responsible for every tax and fee increase that has taken place in this state since he, Probst, was elected. Show the voter that electing Benton, warts and all, increased the likelihood of continuing versions of fiscal sanity in the senate.

That's not what happened. The dems proceeded to knock Benton a hundred miles off message and he fell for it. They waved the red flag in front of the bull, and he charged.

The only message Benton needed was that electing a liberal tax and spender like Probst guaranteed higher and more taxes. It guaranteed more idiocy like gay marriage and dope smoking. That was all Benton's message needed to be.

Does Benton's near loss indicate that the GOP should now shift gears and become democrat-light?

Well, how'd that work out for the RINO crew we ran for the statewides?

If "moderation" was what needed to happen here, then the position of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general would all be Republican.

Why vote for fake democrats when the real thing is available?

Here's what the GOP needs to do to win:

1. Basic ground game competence.

The ground game used to be the GOP specialty. Note: USED to be.

We hear rumor of as many as 100 paid union people on the ground working the Probst race while the GOP did squat.

We had no noticeable GOP ground game in this county. I held our ballots out, for example, until the last minute. We didn't hear from anyone doing GOTV.

2. Find quality candidates who can win in 2014/16, identify them and prep them now.

This last second "beating the bush" thing to get warm bodies to throw into the arena... unqualified and unfunded... is a waste of time.

Anyone can decide to run. But the GOP has been, once again, shown the mostly successful democrat model. We ignore that model while we typically hope against hope they'll screw up and lose.

Stop attempting to run leftists masquerading as fake democrats with a GOP label. Find quality, well-educated, courageous people who will put this country ahead of themselves. Find people who are not, for example, Jaime Herrera.

Figure out that the requirement of supporting someone running in the GOP merely because of their label is a non-starter. There has to be substance. There has to be drive. There has to be a GENUINE, INCORRUPTIBLE DESIRE to SERVE. At a minimum, they have to have the guts to face their constituency.

Marc Boldt made a lot of hay off the concept of the "servant leader."

Until he decided to get rid of the "servant" part. Then it all fell apart.

It became obvious shortly after my arrival in the Executive Director's chair that we were, and to a far too large extent, continue to be, a white bread, mostly male, bastion. I strongly advocated then as now that the GOP begin to spend a lot of it's money on minority outreach.

The demographics speak for themselves, and the allegations of the GOP being primarily a mostly white. mostly male party will continue to resonate as long as there is no sustained, long term effort to change it.

The democrats own that issue. And while we can point to some successes in the area of fostering minority involvement, those successes are far too few and in between.

This issue was super-critical when I advocated for it back in 2000, and it is ultra-critical now.

The irony here is that I believe that most values in the minority demo are conservative: as a rule, minorities are not huge drivers on the so-called "progressive" social issues; they loathe gay marriage and dope legalization that many white leftists see as the issue de jour, for example.

But because this party essentially ignores the minority segment or throws it under a bus like they did Allen West in Florida, who was a victim of GOP redistricting efforts in that state, the GOP will continue to flail away and have less and less to show for it.

4. Study and co-opt democrat methods.

The Benton-Probst race was a microcosm of democrat campaign-think at the local level which closely mirrored their efforts at the national level.

There was no lie, no attack, no exaggeration, no twisting they would not do. With the help of the national media at covering up and ignoring the incompetence and malfeasance of the moron-in-chief, much like the democratian's efforts at the same here locally concerning their democrat candidates, the map to success became clear.

That effort at class and political warfare, in essence, became TOO successful, leading to democrat hatred of anyone using the "R" label... and the subsequent abandonment of democrat Marc Boldt, who was the penultimate example of "RINO," for all the good THAT did him, and who thousands of democrats refused to vote for... even though that refusal would be the same as a refusal to vote for Steve Stuart... given their close political alliance.

The difference? The label.

As of this writing, there are 38,000 undervotes and write ins in the Madore-Boldt race. In the other commissioner race, Mielke - Tanner, there are 17,000. It's like that 20,000 of those undervotes belonged to democrats.

And in a race decided by around 14,000 or so votes.... what kind of difference could those likely democrat votes have made?

Had Boldt actually ran as a democrat, which this writer had urged him to do back in early April, he would have had a much better chance, and he would have likely gained the support of a major portion of those who refused to vote for him because of his bizarre, dogged insistence on claiming GOP membership in a group that did not, rightfully, want him.

The civility of politics that infuriates so many around here, or the lack thereof, has become the standard democrat shlock. They beat the hell out of their opposition, and whine like sissies when the favor is returned.

We are in a fist fight, not a debate. And it's a fight for our political lives. Clearly democrats have long-since recognized that and have abandoned all pretense of truth, issues and honor. That's obvious because, given the train wreck they've turned the left coast into and, for that matter, the entirety of this nation, they cannot run on their record so they become masters of deflection and controlling the debate.

The outcomes defy belief, given how horrifically bad their governance has been and will continue to be.

Like every other species, we must adopt or die out. But in a war, when one side insists on following the rules the other side will typically kick their butts.

But the idea that we must ALL become democrat light and assume ownership like democrats over democrat issues is absurd. Because, at the end of the day, if all we are to become is a different version of the fringe-left whackers running the show... then why bother? What's the point?

I've repeatedly stated that it takes anger to depose an incumbent. That anger in the massive opposition to the CRC bridge replacement/loot rail/toll scam is palpable. And in this round at the local level, it was felt at the polls and the result was that the tax scam was slaughtered and leading local CRC scammer Marc Boldt was crushed by the voters.

The anger against that moron in the DC was just as palpable, but badly harnessed and incompetently led.

Caving in on "progressive/democrat" issues will only serve to fracture the GOP even more. Even the discussion splinters us, and Boehner's abandonment of the fight against Obamacare, for example, tends to show the weakness of the GOP establishment that brought us such stellar leftists as McKenna, Dunn and Finkbeiner, who could not throw conservative principles under the bus fast enough... and who are all now called "losers"

The steps I advocate are a long-term approach. But the course the GOP is on... doing the same thing, over and over again, truly is a definition of insanity... much like the efforts of so many to shove principle aside in an abortive effort to win.

Sometimes, winning just isn't that important. And if "winning" means you wind up with the same guy that has a different label... then what's the point?

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Look, we get that the leftist dicks running the democratian are clueless morons. But this garbage?

On one hand, we have the Managing Hypocrite spewing:

For our community to be successful, more people need to be invited under
the tent. More people need to feel like they have a say -- not only in
the direction of our community, but what we should pay for to move us
forward.

Which explains perfectly why you've been such an idiot on forcing a CRC vote... right?

Jeers: To useless advisory votes. If all of the different ballot measures
and referendums weren't enough for voters to study, politicians weighted
down an already thick general election ballot with two advisory
measures, the outcome of which will do zilch to change anyone's taxes or
steer state policy. The state Legislature already ended a tax loophole
for large out-of-state banks; despite the 57.2 percent of voters who
said the banks' tax break should be restored, it's unlikely the
Democrat-controlled Legislature will do so. Ditto for the second
advisory vote, which concerned extending a petroleum pollution tax that
was due to expire next year. More than 55 percent of voters thought the
oil companies deserve a break, but it's not likely the Legislature will
revisit its decision.

These advisory votes are the brainchild of initiative organizer Tim
Eyman, whose Initiative 960, passed in 2007, authorized voting on any
tax increases, extensions or closing of loopholes. Thanks to Eyman, we
can expect more of these gems that waste our time and the government's
money, while the Legislature continues with business as usual. As the
Spokesman-Review of Spokane notes, if voters really want to repeal a lot
of taxes on business, they shouldn't keep re-electing incumbent
Democrats.

The idiocy of this garbage is self-evident, but for Lou, one of the more intellectually challenged people I've ever seen, let me spell it out.

On one hand, you, personally, claim we should "feel like they (Presumably meaning us, the people...) have a say."

Then, when we GET a say... even via an advisory vote, how do you morons characterize it?

You call it a "waste of our time and the government's money."

Well, guess what?

It's NEVER a "waste of time" to determine the will of the people... unless, of course, you're a moronic fringe-left whack job who doesn't GIVE a damn what that will is, or unless your last name is Brancaccio. Then, that determination, even if you've just lied ON THE SAME DAY by telling us we should "feel like we have a say."

How can you write, on one hand, that the effort on these votes was a "waste of time" and then write on the other that we should "feel like we have more of a say?"

Were you dropped on your head as a baby... repeatedly?

And then THIS idiocy:

"... that waste... the government's
money."

IT'S NOT THE "GOVERNMENT'S MONEY," YOU MORON... IT'S OUR MONEY. And whether YOU like it or not, since you hate the will of the people and all that, this is the law that WE passed.... and not Tim Eyman, you blithering idiot.

How could someone as stupid as you be let out in public without a keeper?

All of this, of course, just goes to the heart of the matter: Even though you whine like a cut cat over public employee pay and benefits, you stupidly endorse and do your best to get those responsible for that elected and re-elected.Even in this instance, it's We, The People who will suffer with higher prices because those idiots YOU supported will not, like YOU, listen to the people of this state.

So, do us all a favor: short of your rag declaring a final bankruptcy, why don't you take your own advice, moron: stop bitching about taxes and public employee unions and pay and benefits. After all, you knew what those snakes were before YOU so stupidly endorsed them.

Babbling Brancaccio strikes again? Lew's remarkably astute observation is both accurate AND constructive, to those... like you... who match the description concerning the special interests you grovel for.

"For our community to be successful, more people need to be invited under the tent. More people need to feel like they have a say -- not only in the direction of our community, but what we should pay for to move us forward."

Actually, the rag you work for closing would be a big first step.

And, of course, you offer nothing when it comes to how to achieve this goal.

But the only thing you and the rest of the downtown mafia want in your tent are those who agree with you. There's no room for opposition: you attack it, lie about it, ridicule it, twist it, and do your very best to injure it.

The issues confronting this community? You've never wanted us to "have a say" on any of them. Your paper has blissfully joined with the scum who sued the voters to KEEP them from having a say on the idiocy of the Pollard Hilton and the rest of the downtown redevelopment scam.

Where is your incessant drum beat of complaint over the lack of a vote on that downtown redevelopment? The Pollard Hilton? The horrific scam of the CRC? That moronic ballpark scam?

THOSE are just some of the issues where none of us... those not inside the clique that you run with who make these decisions without even letting us know they're being considered.... who present them as a "fait accompli" typically with your rabid support and dismissal of those of us in opposition... or the Pit Yorkie's outright attack and belittlement... and then, you write THIS garbage?

Before you make these kinds of moronic observations, you'd be better off spending some quality time in front of a mirror... maybe while you're getting your hair dyed?

Hostess says it's going out of business after striking workers across the country crippled its ability to make its Twinkies, Ding Dongs and other snacks.

The company had warned employees that it would file a motion with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday seeking permission to shutter its operations and sell its brands if plants hadn't resumed normal operations by a Thursday evening deadline. The deadline passed without a deal.

The closing would mean the loss of about 18,500 jobs.

"I don't know if they thought that was a bluff," CEO Gregory Rayburn said on CNBC Friday. He said the financial impact of the strike makes it "too late" to save the company even if workers have a change of heart. That's because the clients such as retailers decide to stop carrying products when supplies aren't adequate.

Rayburn said he's hopeful that the company will find buyers for its roster of about 30 brands, which include Ho Hos, Dolly Madison, Drake's and Nature's Pride snacks. The company books about $2.5 billion in sales a year.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

For the past several months, I've attacked Marc Boldt on this blog and in conversations with others because of what he's done to us as a county commissioner.

A volunteer working in Victory who was a Madore supporter remarked to me last night at Victory that, well, I had to be pretty happy about how it all turned out... happy, in effect, because Marc had lost.

Such is not the case.

It's complicated.

My opposition to Boldt was because I perceived that his actions and decision were causing frequently irrevocable harm to the people of this county. And I believe that the people of this county must come first.

Here, we had a fundamental disconnect: the will of the people should, I believe, always reign supreme. The importance of that will does not somehow disappear with the completion of November elections, to be suborned or ignored until the next November election.

Those we elect must respect that will above all else. They must seek it... embrace it with the understanding that the will of the people is why they were given the job in the first place and that everything in government stems from that.

SECTION 1 POLITICAL POWER.All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

It appears to me that on a frequent basis, Marc ignored that will and replaced it with the desires of what I refer to euphemistically as the Downtown Mafia... another incestuous group unconcerned about the will and desires of the people of this county.

So, do I give an exemption to Marc because I'm related to him?

I've always spoken truth to power. For example, I hammer on Jaime Herrera like a gong. Her faux party identification does nothing to earn her a pass: I believe her to be a disgrace to elective office.

The same for another low-life: Jon Russell. These two, both alleged Republicans, represent everything bad about politics.

Their label provides them with no shield from my scrutiny. How can I not provide the same scrutiny for Boldt?

But I take no joy in his failures. If I am happy, I'm happy because the system worked.

But my sorrow is that opposing my own brother-in-law and former, 6-year boss... came to this end.

I believe he'll ultimately be fine. But the loss of his 18 year political career and his mother on the same night would be a crushing blow to anyone.

I did what I did... took the stands that I took... because principle trumps all other aspects of my political life.

Am I "happy" that Marc lost?

Absolutely not. Something, however, had to be changed, as he was driving the local economy off a high cliff with his dogged insistence on joining with the thugs ramming the CRC scam down our throats.

It will be instructive as to how all those who held his coat during this past term will treat him now. He carried their water like Gunga Din. How will his loyalty to them, as misplaced as it was... be rewarded?

It's too early to tell. But 18 years in elective office... should be marked by something besides a plaque.

I'm actually sorry it turned out this way. But my positions were based on fact. And sentiment can't take any place in any of this.

The GOP has lost it's collective mind, confusing "elections" with "principle" and giving up one to achieve victory in the other.

We've already seen what a major campaign that "out-democrats" the democrats can accomplish: democrat victories. Just check with Governor-Elect Inslee.

So now, the GOP lines up in its circular firing squad, pulls the trigger, and caves on the single most unpopular issue in the United States today... an issue that remains unpopular issue regardless of how this election turned out.

It's this kind of idiocy and abandonment of principle in an effort to engage in political expedience that has made me chuck the GOP... just like it appears they've chucked me.

They take stands such as opposition to the idiocy of Obamacare, allegedly based on principle, and then get rid of the principles when they suffer a set back... throwing the baby of being the people's voice on that subject out with the post-election bathwater.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

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If this is the best we can do, we need to fire the lot of them and replace them with high school graduates.

Dear C-Tran Board Members,

In reviewing C-Tran’s budget (which will be proposed to you today during the working session); I noticed that on page 26 of your packet (“Cash and Investments” page), that C-Tran is attempting to project their ending cash balance as of December 31, 2014. In doing so, they have budgeted for net revenues in 2013 and 2014 as well as the self insurance and work capital obligations for the next two years.

However, they are budgeting 5 years of capital expenditures (instead of just 2) – a total of $33.8 million.

If you look at Page 25 of your packet, you can see that 2013/2014 capital expenditures are only $13.6M. As such, the cash and investments page on page 26 should be as follows:

As you can see, the additional capital expenditures in 2015-2018 are artificially decreasing the estimated cash balance at 12/31/2014 by more than $20 million, making it appear as if C-Tran is out of money three years before that actually happens (and without the benefit of offsetting those capital expenditures in future years with future revenues).

Because public comment is not generally allowed during work sessions, I wanted to point this out to you in advance of your meeting. I have attached the two pertinent pages of the budget to this email for your information.

Maybe. Using bodies and destruction as a meme for re-election fits Obama rather well.

The photo op with Christie may have done it: it certainly ended any chance of Christie ever getting the GOP nomination for President: amazing how he didn't seem to know how he was being used and how that may have cost us... everything. But with these kinds of numbers, all the blame can't rest on Christie.

And I was wrong. Dead wrong. Tragically wrong.

We got clobbered... again... and I didn't see it coming at all, based on the polling and conventional wisdom for those I've relied on for the past two decades to inform and analyze in far superior ways to my own meager effort.

The documented "enthusiasm gap" never really materialized. Failing to win Ohio and losing Florida were, of course, fatal... either was, but both together? How much of this was a result of Paulbots or anti-Mormon religious bigots sitting it out?

I, personally, lost a dinner bet, but the nation's loss is incalculable.

Many more of us will die, many more of us will lose their money, their value, their belongings. We will continue to be a joke overseas, laughed at by our enemies who will view our continued reliance on that disgrace to the Oval Office as the tasty temptation of weakness that has spilled rivers of blood in the past and is likely to do so in the future.

The pattern of socialism and income redistribution, pain, misery and increased size, scope and dependence on government will continue as the ignorant and malinformed confuse the relinquishment of their freedom for the temporary satisfaction of getting stuff that others are paying for in return to their allegiance to those who want to keep them on the plantation.

All in all, the tea leaves came out a different color than that I
believed they would. And now, as our country continues the process of
sinking out of sight like all great governments which were eroded from
within, we can mark this as the second in the series of elections which
will ultimately underline that destruction.

RINO Rob McKenna was trending towards winning, as he was intellectually superior to Inslee in every way, but like all of those bereft of principle, simply could not make the sale to the base... like me... running away from Scott Walker's courageous stand in Wisconsin, stupidly hurting our community by supporting the CRC rip off, loot rail and tolls... as well as the Cowlittz/Paskenta/Mohegan/Barnett megacasino scam.... exactly and precisely like the democrat, Inslee... not to mention the stupidity of his comments with the Boy Scouts on their homosexuality restriction... something that was none of his fricking business, but something that helped to do him in as he offended the family's of 10's of thousands of Boy Scouts in our state.

Locally, I feared that Joe Tanner might win because Tom Mielke ran a non-campaign and the fact that David Madore won due to his massive investment in television and other media might make some feel better but the loss of what the second commission vote, Mielke, represented meant that David making it would mean no real difference in outcomes. And fortunately, I was wrong about those elections as well.

Tanner's campaign in the end lost my respect, as he just turned into another leftist hack.

So, what does this mean for me, given Boldt's loss as I opposed my own brother-in-law out of principle?

Fighting for what you believe to be right doesn't come cheaply in personal cost. But alienation of the corrupt and hopefully, assistance in their ultimate political destruction is worth it.

I am sorry that it came to this. I wish it hadn't. But in a modern day Star Wars rif, Marc Boldt had gone completely over to the oh-so-gradual dark side, who were using him like a 9/16's open end wrench, only to be tossed aside for the next democrat de jour or when the job of raping us with the CRC was done. Unfortunately, Marc couldn't see that... or if he did see it, he didn't care.

Either way, for the sake of the people of this county... he had to go. Now, we'll see what we've got in retuurn. And everyone should make a gift of Pepto to Steve Stuart.

As I have been saying for years, "out-democrating the democrats" is never going to be a successful strategy.

On the state and national level, the GOP got it's collective clock cleaned. Only at the local level did the GOP meet with some success.

Early on, I wasn't a Romney supporter. It was only in August when he made some slight, subtle changes in verbiage that I believed he was going to be in a position to seal the deal: and it was after he destroyed Obama in the first debate that I was sure he'd win... and I had the polling to prove it.

Except we all now know that the democrat polling of left-leaning outfits like PPP, which turned out to be the most publicly accurate, was on the mark, while the here-to-fore polling of Rasmussen and Gallup were pipe-dreams.

So, Romney lost the popular vote by millions, because it appeared we had an even smaller turn out than with McCain. Given the state of this nation, which is charitably "sorry" as a result of the ineptitude and incompetence this administration will go down in history for and acknowledging the accuracy of Romney's 47% observation, which turned out to be startling... and moronically... (on the part of those ignorant idiots who voted for Obama) accurate, the idea that the clown who bears direct responsibility for this garbage heap could be re-elected is just.... unfathomable.

Romney is of the far-left Evans mold. As Republican as my Cocker Spaniel, to see our future with his governance is to recall his past as Governor of Massachusetts, a record little distinguished from his democrat predecessors and marked by Romney-care and a state level violation of the 2nd Amendment, their assault weapons ban.

In an era where transparency is GOP watchword, Romney apparently believed the people were speaking Sanskrit when demands for him to release his tax returns began to surface; in a frighteningly inept and inexcusable lapse, he was entirely unprepared to deal with the issue and his response to the demand has been hesitant, half-hearted and altogether unsatisfactory.

Romney has it all: self-financing, establishment backing (Of course, locally, "the establishment" candidates, like at the congressional level, have been the foreseen consequence of worthless representation... hardly the stuff to build faith in their judgment, I believe) 6 years or so of constant campaigning, an envious organization, contacts through out the country and what should have been an envious record of accomplishment in the business world... a record that now seems to be the "Bain" of his existence

I watched his failure to pound Obama with Benghazi in dismay, as one of the more bizarre perceptions of that moron is that he has a fricking clue about foreign policy and that he'd allowed Americans, which he clearly does not seem to value, to be slaughtered without even trying to save them ("Saving" was not the test. "Making every effort to save them" was the test, and he couldn't even do that.)

Three days before the election, I was discussing it all with my wife, and I told her I had a feeling that Romney was going to lose... but that I couldn't articulate the reasons. I could, however articulate a dozen reasons why he would win, and as an adherent of the Patton "Never Take Council of Your Fears" school of thought, I just shoved it aside until about 5:30 election night, when it became clear that he was going to lose because he hadn't taken Florida or Virginia outright.

More locally, RINO Rob McKenna became the very caricature of what many GOP'ers now want the GOP to become: milquetoast versions of conservatives... mainstreamers who reflect the democrats in every social area and in most of the financial.

McKenna, for example sold out Clark County on the CRC AND the Tribes, in some bizarre, pointed effort to play nice with the unions and the Indians... who proceeded to provide Inslee with money at the rate of (when I looked last) about 6 to 1; a blithering, leftist hack who couldn't, apparently, even get one endorsement from a daily because he was, frankly, too much of the stupid partisan hack... with a bonus of alienating his base by moving not only to the center, but by selling out the entirety of the GOP by moronically attempting to co-op leftist positions.

Let's remember, as a brief aside, that the people backing McKenna were the exact same people backing Herrera and who did so very well with Rossi. What's that definition of insanity again? And Herrera's none-leadership caused me to vote for a whack like Haugen, she's so terrible for this region.

Late polling, however, indicated a shift towards RINO Rob after months of being behind because of his campaign's idiocy. He was closing... fast... and I thought that a sign of Romney coat tails which, obviously, didn't exist.

So, how'd it go here in Clark County?

Just ask Commissioner-Elect Madore and Commissioner Mielke.

Clearly, thousands of people voted for Obama and then, in turn, voted for both Melke and Madore... the same phenomena I observed in 2008. Back in 08, Mielke was the only conservative running for commissioner. Boldt ran as a conservative, but without the scrutiny he deserved... and against worthless opposition.

Mielke, who was outspent roughly 4 to 1 in 08, was outspent roughly 8 to 1 in 12. He won by 209 votes if memory serves in 08, and Mielke's brand of conservatism resulted in a paltry 6000 or so this go-round.... while conservative GOP'er Madore has rung up a roughly 13,000 vote lead.

So, here locally, what it is that caused Madore and Mielke to exceed both Romney and Obama in percentage of vote? Why would so many vote for Obama and then, apparently, turn around and vote for these two?

And in another case study, why is it that the entirety of the Wisconsin government was retaken by the GOP, but Romney lost the state?

"Mainstreaming" or "moderating" the GOP does not appear to be the answer. I offer this because both Romney and McKenna appear to be the most "moderate" choices available.... Romney being the polar opposite of McCain... and then garnering roughly 3 million fewer votes than McCain.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not discounting the religious bigotry element of this: there are some I've seen who flatly refuse to vote for a Mormon president, or a Mormon anything else.

A vote for a Mormon in many minds is the religious equivalent of mainstreaming homosexuals. I get that.

But if it were Romney's religion... if that was the factor... then how does caving on principle change any of that?

Did Obama win by "moderating" his fringe-left views, as opposed to lying every time his lips move?

There is a gullibility and enlightened self-interest element here, combined with the typically bizarre and incompetent GOP ground game.

Obama has provided the recipe on winning. It's up to the GOP to provide the ingredients.

And at the state and national level, that appears to be a task that is simply beyond the current GOP leadership... and their enablers.

Team Obama gets mad props for their campaign. It is, after all, an outcomed-based business. I give even "madder" props to Tom Mielke who won with practically nothing.

When it comes to techniques and strategies, I defer to the Obama camp.

When it comes to substance, Mielke has to get the nod.

After all, when it comes to becoming more moderate::

Boldt has acknowledged that he has become more of a moderate since his days as a five-term state representative from the 17th District.

And how did that work out for him?

This was an election rife with lessons. The question now is this: are those who lost going to learn?

While we believe the current I-5 bridge is inadequate and must be addressed, a new direction is needed.

Well, first, the voters don't believe that. That this empty suited cardboard cutout would write this goes back to her self-confirmation of the "Ridgefield Barbie" meme.

The "current I-5 bridge" is safe... and has the advantage of being paid for. The people do not want to be popped an additional $1200 or more per year just to go to work.

“We are concerned that the CRC’s mounting problems are jeopardizing the project’s chance for success, and we care too much about this region to simply let it fail."

Of course, we actually DO want it to fail.

What's needed here is a 3rd and 4th bridge in different locations, one to the west of I-5 and one to the east of I-205. Those could (and likely should) be tolled... and both can be built for less money than the I-5 Bridge/loot rail toll scam.

i would sacrifice the $150 million that the Leave-it/democrat cabal has already wasted over the $10 billion they plan to waste, every day and twice on Sunday.

No matter how much lipstick Herrera wants to put on this pig, it's still a pig, and Herrera's fantasies notwithstanding WE DO NOT WANT THIS PROJECT.

“We want this process to move forward, but it’s time for compromise. Rather than issue ultimatums over what Clark County residents must accept, the CRC must produce a design that can earn the support of communities that rely on the I-5 roadway and Columbia River. That is the only way this needed project will succeed.

Well, the voters don't. And since there is precisely NO design that will work to unnecessarily replace the I-5 bridge, why she would make this claim is just... bizarre.

Thanks to this year’s national transportation bill, the federal government has the ability to pay its share of a new bridge.

Decoded, this means "Thanks to my failure to do anything about this funding because I want this project, the money is in there to yoke the people of my district to pay for this rip off."

Because "it's share" should be the ENTIRETY of THIS scam.

Once there is a project alternative that has the support of Clark County citizens, we will put all of our resources into making the bridge project a reality.”

How is this going to be determined?

And taking it a step further, where is the absolute demand for a vote? Do you see it?

Let me make this clear: Herrera wants the bridge... and light rail... and tolls. The letter says as much if you read between the lines. This public posturing is, again, to get people to believe she gives a damn about them or their positions, which, like the slimeball democrats (Moeller, Pridemore, Leave-it, et al is all about posturing.)

If that wasn't the case, the letter would have made demands. As it is, it's practically so nebulous it can have any meaning you want in it.

50 or 5000 morons signing a letter that doesn't reflect the political reality of this region is as worthless as Herrera's brain. Unless SPECIFICS are laid out, as in:

"Hi, Guys.... here's the deal. I am going to spike the federal funding of this massive rip off. You won't put the project to a county-wide vote, so the people spoke through this election, eliminating those they could who supported this scam; clearly, they do not want tolls, do not want loot rail and... per force... do not want the current safe and PAID FOR bridge replaced for ANY reason.

If you can't find at least 2 other locations for additional bridges, which certainly may be tolled to help pay for them, then we're done talking and this is over. Meanwhile, rest assured that because you have failed to put this project to a county-wide vote and have shown rank incompetence in the process, design and development of this debacle, I will kill any further federal funding for this massive waste of money.

And oh, yeah.... Tim?

You're an asshole.

Love, Jaime"

Then nothing has changed.

Of course, compared to the initial letter, with 10 signatures of everyone elected around here who doesn't seem to have a "d" after their name, Leave-it's bitchy little whinefest is worthless. But without specifics as to exactly WHAT is acceptable (Only a 3rd and 4th bridge with no light rail... anywhere) and HOW it will be approved by the people of this county (A county-wide, up or down vote) and what the consequences will be if they don't go along with it, then Herrera's letter accomplished nothing and, in reality, changes nothing.

Nor, for that matter, does that lying scumbag Leave-it's hissy fit as a result. Leave-it works for a bridge-contractor and his obvious conflict of interest should remove him from any vote... or say.... in the entirety of this program. His pig-like bleating on the subject is as worthless as he is... and like Herrera's posturing, changes nothing.

Notice that the newspaper seems to be remaining silent about all of this at the editorial level? One has to wonder: why is that?

Could it be that they've finally admitted to themselves what we all already know?

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Words of Wisdom

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Dr. Martin Luther King

"Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom."

Alexis de Tocqueville

"A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example."Niccolo Machiavelli

“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Washington State Constitution, Declaration of Rights

"All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights." - Article 1, Section 1

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"The first power reserved by the people is the initiative." - Article 2, Section 1(a)